Saturday, September 27, 2008

Oh no. I've actually run out of things to write about. This is the end!!! No more happy thoughts. Lost, Lost, Lost...

I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the hard place is another rock. Below me is a bottomless chasm of nothingness. I can't hang on much longer...

And look at that, I managed to squeeze out a couple sentences about not being able to come up with anything to write. I'm amazing. No, really.

I have talked to a couple friends of mine (some more friends than others), and they ask me from time to time, "I read your blog and I love it. How do you keep it fresh? Where do you come up with that stuff?"

Friday, September 26, 2008

The whole mac vs. PC thing is stupid. Let me just start with that. An Apple computer can do anything a PC can and vice versa. Sure, mac has a better advertising strategy, and managed to successfully brand themselves as something different than 95% of the computer industry, but the line is fading. Apple stores charge exorbitant sums for hardware, software, and limits what kind of products and services their affiliate can provide. And, their computers really are not any more reliable. I speak from first hand experience.

Just Tuesday, as I was typing a message on someone's Facebook wall my browser started having a seizure. So, I tried to force quit the browser, except, I couldn't. The whole computer then became irresponsive. So I shut it off. Upon rebooting, the screen went gray, and then instead of showing me profiles and asking for a password, I saw a blinking folder icon with a question mark. What I discovered is that this indicates one of three things:

So I got my tech savvy room mate to help, to no avail. I then asked the on-campus IT people to help, and they claimed they couldn't help with a personal computer (PC), - even though its a mac - so I brought it to an Apple affiliate to run a diagnostic knowing full well that I may lose all my files in a worst case scenario. In a best case scenario, it is just a software glitch, my drive's ok, and so are my files.

But my point is this: Apple computers are not impervious to failure like so many loyal mac people think. They overheat, breakdown, have software errors, and yes, they can even have viruses. And, they cost more. But still, I think they are good computers. I would not discourage anyone from buying one, just as I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying a PC. Just get whatever is the best bang for your buck. Cheap, reliable, etc. You know your criteria.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Homework, you are so abusive. You drain my time, my precious moments of life. You seem to want me to hate you. Well I'm not giving in. In fact, I love you. And, I love you even more when I'm done with you. Just a couple hard long hours putting up with you, trying to please you and then I'm done with you. It's a daily affair. A bridge that I continually cross. On the one side is you, forcing me to monogamy, and on the other side is my life without you and your oppressive demands.

You entice me saying that spending time with you is healthy. You tempt me saying that you will increase my reservoir of knowledge and passion. I know better. It is I who do you. It is I who puts in the time. You are not responsible for anything. You are my responsibility. You're clingy, demanding, and I put up with you out of my own good will. Homework, you are my b*tch.

Homework. Soon we will part with one another. Your cousin work is so much better-looking and attractive than you. And, on top of that, she pays me.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

That wasn't so bad now was it? Urine is liquid gold. Your bladder may be small, but at least most of us have one. Are your buttocks too big, too small, or sweaty? We've all been there. How about infections?! They're so nice when they're over.

A lot of people I know are squeamish about these things. But being squeamish is not like being Amish. You can't claim it as a religion. All I can say is, "You're not alone, but get over it, and don't use that as an excuse." You shouldn't be afraid of talking about such things, or other sex related, and bodily related functions. That's life.

I'm not suggesting that talking about your urinary tract infection is the best wedding reception dinner conversation, but it shouldn't be something that makes you blush with the right crowd. And, I would suggest that that crowd is bigger than you think. People like to be helpful. Just watch me - Here's a sure way to urinary tract, menstrual, and even mental health: cranberry juice. It's like the miracle fruit. Loaded with anti-oxidant, free-radical blasting power, those tart little berries from the northern hinterland can pack the right punch in so many ways.

So, if you want to talk about your unmentionable problems, I have no problem with that. You should be tactful, but you shouldn't be embarrassed.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I love when people say things like, "words can't describe my feelings," or "it goes without saying," because they are doing the exact opposite of what they're trying not to do. They are making a claim that words are inadequate to describe the situation, but then fall into the trap of describing this inadequacy with words.

It reminds me of Nietzsche's claim that "There is no truth."

Do you see the problem with that statement? Making a universal claim that there is no truth, is a universal claim of truth. The only difference is, his claim to truth is that it doesn't exist. However, it does exist in by saying it doesn't.

I am not saying I am a follower of Nietzsche, nor am I saying that I believe all things can be described by language, but I think our attempts at showing our limitations funny, even ironic.

Monday, September 22, 2008

I just read an article on bloomberg.com that explains how the collapse happened and who was really responsible. It might shock you, but it was the senate democrats in 2005. The legislation that would have prevented Freddie and Fannie from taking on so much risk was caught in partisan wrangling and was never allowed to go before the whole body of the senate to be voted on.

Funny part is, McCain backed it. Obama, Hillary, and Dodd opposed it because each had received thousands of dollars from Fannie and Freddie. Obama got $125,000, Hillary got $75,000 and Dodd got $165,000 Ooops. Guess we can't pin this one on the republicans.

The study of politics is a very important subject, that has unfortunately been smeared by hypocrites who paint themselves as angels and in truth are demons.

People cringe when they hear the word, and often absolve themselves from conversations touching on anything even remotely related to their perception of what it is. However, politics are a part of our day to day life, our conversations, relations, and all interactions. There are the politics of the family, the politics of our immediate social circles, the politics of our home towns, the politics of our states and nations, and international politics. But what fatigues us is not its study, but rather the corruptive nature of competitive "balance of power" politics.

Most people at this point in the presidential election are fatigued. They are fatigued by the attempts of both candidates to paint the other in a negative light, using flimsy arguments and half-truths. Both are equally guilty. In commercials aired by both candidates, allegations have been made that cannot be completely dismissed, but cannot be completely denied. And, unfortunately, this is why they continue to distort facts. If they both can claim transparency, and be nothing but opaque, why should they stop, if it will win them the election?

People in general do not want to do a lot of research by themselves to determine which candidate most closely adheres to their personal beliefs. They want it easy. They expect that campaign commercials, CNN and Fox will fill them in enough. Well, good luck with that. Here's a link provided to me by a commenter on my previous post that debunks and rates the truthfulness of different campaign smears from both candidates. Whether it helps or not I do not know, but I hope so.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Just about everyone has made reference as of late to the financial crisis, so I'm going to put in my two cents.

Initially, as with everything, people wanted to blame Bush and lenient regulations that were promoted by his administration and party. Then people started to get it right and blamed the money managers and CEOs of AIG, Lehman's, Freddie and Fannie for overextending themselves into risk averse loan situations without consideration of the ramifications. Then people went back to blaming Washington, which is a generic cop out strategy, to not put the blame exactly where it lies. Many factors were involved. Yes, it involves many greedy bankers, yes it involves the FED, and yes, it could have been prevented. However, I am horrified by the solution.

The US first bails out Freddie and Fannie, then it lets Lehman Brother's go bankrupt. The next day they bail out AIG, and now they have devised a plan to loan 700 billion dollars to ad liquidity and save the entire financial industry in America and the world. What that amounts to is a free ride for these companies. It's like saying, "Well I know you were irresponsible for more than a decade and a half, causing millions of people to lose their money, but we'll bail you out anyway and you can live happily off your 7-8 figure pension or severance." But, this bail out is not just helping American companies. Paulson has included foreign companies who have a lot at stake here as well, because as he correctly claims "It is a global problem." However, that being said, it should be a global solution, not the American taxpayers bailing all these companies out. We are marching towards socialism. We will soon have a completely state run financial system. And, the best part about it is no one consulted the American people. I suppose they didn't have to, but it sure ads insult to injury.

Who really should get the help from this crisis are all the people who put money into this failed system, not the system. The lenders screwed up royally and can't pay back their debts, so why should we the people who lost our money to them, bail them out? I know some will argue, "desperate times call for desperate measures," but I would have stopped at Freddie and Fannie.

Oh, and on another note, the former CEO of Fannie works for Obama, gave a load of money and picked his VP.

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Michael Powers

About the Author

Michael Powers is a fairly cultured American with an eye for seriousness, but willing to entertain the occasional dabble into the surreal and the inane. His writing focuses on news, random stories, politics, and social issues with his own brand of cynicism, but always with a humorous or optimistic outlook.